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BitBNS

avoid.net/bns→28/100·82% conf.
[AI-DRAFTED · AWAITING VERIFICATION][src:defillama]

Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.

anchored·2yRS7S…Umjz

Summary

BitBNS (Bitbns) is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 by Gaurav Dahake, Prashant Singh, and Srikanth Sethumadhavan, operating under Buyhatke Internet Private Limited and headquartered in Bengaluru. In February 2022 the exchange suffered a $7.5 million hack that it concealed from users under the guise of 'system maintenance' for over a year until on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly exposed the breach in March 2023. The exchange subsequently froze user withdrawals for approximately two years, drawing multiple court actions in India and sustained criticism for withholding customer funds while continuing to accept new deposits.

Connected Entities

3 entities · 60 linked investigations
Organizations
□BitBNS□ZachXBT82□BNS
Relationships
  • BitBNS→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
Also appears in
Aperture LM·28Trenton Richard Johnston·2Axiom DEX Insider Trading (Broox Bauer)·8MoonHacker·18Dean Daghita / CMDSS (Command Services and Support)·0Gurhan Kiziloz·0SafePal·42AnubisDAO·2SudoRare·2Gurhan Kiziloz (BlockDAG Co-Founder)·0+ 50 more

Connected Through

1 shared actor · 447 investigations

Distinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.

Have evidence about BitBNS?

Timeline(12 events)

14 December 2017

BitBNS launched in Bengaluru, India, by Gaurav Dahake, Prashant Singh, and Srikanth Sethumadhavan under Buyhatke Internet Private Limited.

6 April 2018

Reserve Bank of India ban on crypto banking services causes 95 percent volume drop on BitBNS.

4 March 2020

Indian Supreme Court lifts RBI banking ban on cryptocurrency; BitBNS volumes recover.

February 2022

BitBNS suffers $7.5 million hack. Exchange publicly describes the platform downtime as routine 'system maintenance.' Stolen funds subsequently laundered through Tornado Cash in batches of approximately 100 ETH.

15 December 2022

INR withdrawal suspensions begin on BitBNS, affecting thousands of users.

March 2023

ZachXBT publicly exposes the concealed February 2022 hack via on-chain analysis, forcing CEO Gaurav Dahake to confirm the breach in a public AMA. Dahake attributes delayed disclosure to law enforcement advice.

27 June 2023

Multiple user accounts on BitBNS report portfolio balances dropping to zero. Exchange halts all withdrawals while continuing to accept deposits.

13 March 2024

BitBNS announces INR withdrawals resuming for 'one million users' but provides no follow-up updates.

5 December 2024

Over 30 users file a formal legal notice against BitBNS through advocate Aman Rehaan Khan documenting alleged patterns of service failures and fund withholding.

19 December 2024

BitBNS announces processing of 541 withdrawals between December 19 and December 24, 2024, described as first tangible progress after more than two years.

9 January 2025

Delhi High Court seeks responses from SEBI and RBI on cryptocurrency oversight following writ petition by 16 BitBNS users alleging financial fraud and fund mismanagement.

11 February 2026

Delhi High Court dismisses writ petitions by BitBNS investors under Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, ruling BitBNS is a private entity outside constitutional writ jurisdiction and directing investors to pursue civil or criminal remedies.

Provenance & Audit Trail
Anchored on SolanaVerify on-chain15 Wayback Archivessrc:defillama

Decision Log

This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 15 of 19 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.

full audit log →version history →

model: claude-sonnet-4-6

generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:51 AM

last updated: 8/30/2026, 4:47:11 PM

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